Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 181 - 179 Are you handsome? Are you smart? Is this also a question?

Chapter 181: Chapter 179 Are you handsome? Are you smart? Is this also a question?

Pre-trial hearing scene.

"The court now declares the start of the pre-trial hearing, please let each side state their own litigation position!"

Following Judge Chen’s announcement, the pre-trial hearing began.

Lan Zhengye stood up first, his expression solemn as he said, "Hello, everyone, Your Honor, I am the prosecutor’s representative, Lan Zhengye!"

"The prosecution believes that suspect Fang Yunshu murdered her ex-husband Zeng Xiang. The suspect’s methods of committing the crime were brutal, and the impact of the murder was exceedingly malign... After consultation, the prosecution proposes life imprisonment for the suspect!"

Upon hearing this outcome, the majority in the courtroom were not surprised.

There were even people who thought that the death penalty wouldn’t be excessive.

Judge Chen nodded and looked toward the defense bench.

The prosecution has finished speaking, now it’s your turn, the defense.

At the same time, he was curious about what Zhang Wei’s position would be.

Would it be a guilty plea with a plea for leniency, or would it go against the norm, to undertake an almost impossible innocent defense?

In fact, before the court session, he had asked two colleagues, Judge Wang and Judge Li.

Both of them told him not to underestimate that youngster Zhang Wei, he was best at catching people off guard.

"Let’s see how you, young man, are going to surprise me!" Judge Chen thought to himself, feeling somewhat expectant.

"Your Honor, the defense representative announces that our side will argue for an innocent plea based on self-defense!"

Zhang Wei didn’t beat around the bush and directly declared.

His plea statement stirred some commotion in the courtroom.

"An innocent plea!"

"Actually arguing for an innocent plea, and on the grounds of self-defense—are they trying to prove that the deceased posed a threat to the suspect?"

"How can that be proved? I remember Zeng Xiang didn’t carry any weapons. According to the evidence publicized by the Martial Association, he didn’t have any tools for the crime on him, right?"

"Is this Lawyer Zhang planning to rely solely on his words to push all the blame onto the deceased?"

"Right, defense lawyers usually do that, pushing the responsibility onto the deceased—who won’t have the chance to speak up anymore, let alone refute him!"

A group of reporters all whispered among themselves, looking at Zhang Wei with eyes full of speculation and mockery.

"An innocent plea, this kid really dares to go that route?"

"Lan Gaojian, Zhang Wei’s style is just like that. I’m not surprised. I would have been more surprised if he had chosen to plead for a lighter sentence!"

At the neighboring table, Lan Zhengye and Zhao Jing exchanged words in a low voice, neither of them finding it unexpected.

Lan Gaojian had the experience to remain composed, while Zhao Jing had seen Zhang Wei’s tactics before and had grown accustomed to them.

On one side of the judge’s bench, Li Qinghua’s fingers shook as she typed.

"This kid is really bold, telling outright lies. That woman killed her ex-husband in the street, and you still think she’s innocent?"

However, Li Qinghua’s opinion didn’t matter; she was just a court clerk, unable to influence the trial.

"Indeed, this kid really is beyond my expectations!"

Judge Chen on the bench was also startled for a moment.

But he was an experienced judge after all, and managed not to show any sign of his brief astonishment.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Lawyer Zhang, are you certain you want to use self-defense as your plea for an innocent defense?"

"Your Honor, my decision is made, and the defendant has made the same request!"

Judge Chen looked toward Fang Yunshu, who was sitting next to Zhang Wei; she was looking down, yet she raised no objection.

"Very well, both parties’ litigation positions have been noted by the court!"

Judge Chen gave a strike of the gavel, and then turned to the court guard on the other side, instructing, "Let the prospective jurors come in!"

With the court guard leading, the prospective jurors entered the room and headed to the jury box.

"Defense attorney, please go ahead!"

Judge Chen politely uttered, and Zhang Wei naturally stepped forward.

At the prosecutor’s bench, Lan Zhengye leaned in closer to Zhao Jing and asked, "I’ve seen the cases where Zhang Wei went up against your team before, are his questions really that outrageous?"

"There is no most outrageous, only more outrageous!"

"Really?"

Upon hearing Zhao Jing’s answer, Lan Zhengye fell into deep thought.

Generally speaking, selecting a jury is the first confrontation between the prosecution and defense before the trial begins.

Both sides are extremely cautious with their questions, exceedingly so.

Zhang Wei had been involved in criminal cases before, and Lan Zhengye had seen the records.

All he could say was that those questions were somewhat eye-popping.

Lan Zhengye, furrowing his brows, watched as Zhang Wei approached the jury box; he wanted to see what kind of questions the defense attorney would pose today.

He didn’t believe that in such an important case, the other side would still ask preposterous questions.

Putting aside the speculations of others, Zhang Wei had already made his way in front of the jury box.

"Ahem, hello everyone!"

He smiled and greeted the potential jurors, but the response was sparse.

Zhang Wei didn’t mind; he approached a gentleman and asked with a smile, "Hello, sir!"

"Hello!"

"Do you think you’re handsome?"

"This..."

The question momentarily stunned the man and also caused a look of astonishment on the faces of the other jurors.

What the hell kind of question is that, asking me if I’m handsome, how should I reply?

Not just the jurors, but even Judge Chen on the bench, the clerk Li Qinghua, including Lan Zhengye from the prosecution’s side, were all stunned by this question.

What kind of questioning is this?

Can’t you just ask a proper question, for Christ’s sake, instead of asking if a juror is handsome?

Well, okay, this question is not just outrageous; it’s utter nonsense!

But Zhang Wei didn’t care what others thought, he just wanted the juror’s answer.

The man being questioned quickly responded, tossing his hair back and smiling, "I admit, I am a bit handsome!"

Zhang Wei nodded, "Sir, your answer is very honest, but I don’t allow anyone who is more handsome than me in the courtroom!"

"Your Honor, the defense requests this juror be excused!"

Judge Chen’s wrinkled face couldn’t hold it anymore, faced with Zhang Wei’s reason, he opened his mouth, but couldn’t help it.

"Defense attorney, are you sure you want to dismiss this juror for that reason?"

"Your Honor, the defense confirms, please approve!"

"Well, alright then..."

Although the question was preposterous beyond measure, Judge Chen didn’t object, as it was the defense’s prerogative.

After taking note, however, he still glanced at Li Qinghua beside him, his eyes filled with inquiry.

This is your son-in-law, how can this youngster be so unreliable?

Li Qinghua, seeing Judge Chen’s look, unconsciously bowed her head in shame.

Even though Zhang Wei and her daughter were only boyfriend and girlfriend, she knew in the eyes of the judge, Zhang Wei was considered family.

Now with Zhang Wei making such a scene, she, Li Qinghua, felt it was embarrassing, too damn embarrassing!

Though the question induced countless people’s inner ridicule, even leaving the mother-in-law feeling disgraced,

As the questioner, Zhang Wei didn’t feel the slightest embarrassment.

After snickering at one juror, he moved on to a well-dressed lady, "Ma’am, do you think you’re beautiful?"

"You’ve already called me beautiful, I think you’re not wrong!"

Seeing the woman’s response, Zhang Wei nodded with a smile.

"Your Honor, the defense believes this lovely lady is not suitable to participate in the upcoming hearing, and so requests she be excused!"

The judge sighed but nodded to Zhang Wei, dismissing another juror.

Zhang Wei continued, approaching a bald man and asking with a smile, "Sir, do you consider yourself intelligent?"

"Of course, I’m the top performer in our company, and my boss often praises me for being smart!"

"Thank you for your answer, unfortunately, I don’t allow anyone smarter than me in the courtroom!"

Zhang Wei said, his smile fading, "Your Honor, the defense requests..."

"Alright, alright, I get it; you don’t need to continue!"

Judge Chen waved his hand and dismissed this juror as well.

After dismissing three jurors in a row, Zhang Wei chose to temporarily return to the defense bench and let the prosecution ask questions.

Lan Zhengye straightened his collar and walked over to the jury.

"I would like to ask everyone a question here: if a woman murders her husband in public at Wan Jiahui Plaza, do you think there’s a hidden story, or do you believe she’s killed someone and must pay the price?"

The question posed by Lan Zhengye was very standard and closely related to the case.

"I think you need to understand what happened. A woman would not simply kill her other half for no reason!"

"I think, either the woman was provoked, or she’s just gone mad. Killing someone at Wan Jiahui Plaza is just too outrageous!"

"I think we need to understand the relationship between the two. Maybe this woman had long been dissatisfied with the man, right?"

"Killing at Wan Jiahui Plaza, the woman is obviously insane. Even if there are conflicts between the couple, you shouldn’t kill someone where there are so many people. She certainly has to pay for her actions!"

"I believe that no matter what the man did, if a woman has killed someone, then she must be held responsible for her actions!"

Faced with Lan Zhengye’s question, the jurors expressed their opinions, resulting in a variety of responses.

Overall, the responses could be divided into two categories.

One category would consider the reasons why the woman killed, that is, the motive.

The other insists that murder is wrong, and the woman must be held accountable for the act of murder.

"Thank you for your responses, jurors. I’ve made my decision clear!"

Lan Zhengye nodded and then looked toward the bench, "Your Honor, the prosecution requests the dismissal of jurors number 3, 14, and 21!"

These individuals were the ones who, during questioning, had suggested that the motive behind the woman’s act of violence should be considered.

"As expected!"

Zhang Wei sat in his seat and let out a cold laugh.

"Lawyer Zhang, those questions..." Fang Yunshu leaned over and asked quietly.

"You should have discerned Lan Gaojian’s objective by now, haven’t you?"

Seeing Fang Yunshu nod faintly, Zhang Wei analyzed, "His objective is simple, aimed at this case, or more precisely, at you!"

"The example given during the questioning could actually be regarded as you. Those who answer to look for the motive might contemplate the purpose behind you killing your ex-husband. This is, in fact, unnecessary for the prosecution. As for those who answered that one must pay for murder, they are the ideal jurors for the prosecution. They don’t care why you killed; they only see the fact that you did. Their objective aligns with that of the prosecution: if you’ve killed, you have to be imprisoned!"

"What about your questions? I really don’t understand yours..."

"My questions, are they that hard to comprehend?"

Zhang Wei was taken aback, seeming to think that Fang Yunshu was rather uninformed.

"Actually, my questions are quite straightforward: I wanted to eliminate those with blind confidence, who will not believe your explanations or accept your reason for killing as self-defense. They only trust what they see, hear, and deem right or wrong. Convincing these people is too difficult, so I just eliminated them directly!"

"As for the way I posed my questions, it was just a more subtle method to achieve my goal. You surely can’t expect me to just go up there and ask directly, ’Do you believe my client had a reason for killing? If you do, please stay; if not, please leave,’ can you?"

Fang Yunshu understood; if it were phrased that way, even the judge would probably object.

Yet, such an "innovative" way of questioning indeed shocked Fang Yunshu.

"Your Honor, the prosecution has finished questioning!"

After Lan Zhengye dismissed three people, he also concluded his questioning.

"The defense wishes to ask additional questions!"

Zhang Wei got up again and approached the jury.

"Jurors, please imagine this scenario: one day, you’ve finished shopping and are preparing to carry several large bags of items back to your car when suddenly a beautiful or handsome stranger offers to help carry your bags. What would you think?"

After posing the question, Zhang Wei looked at a lady, "Ma’am, if a handsome stranger offered to help you, what would be your thoughts?"

"Well, I would... thank him?"

The woman looked at Zhang Wei blankly, clearly having never encountered such a situation in her life.

"Thank you for your response, ma’am."

Zhang Wei thanked her and looked towards the jury, "Your Honor, the defense requests the dismissal of this juror!"

"This..."

Judge Chen glanced at Li Qinghua, his eyes seeming to say, "How long has your son-in-law been like this?"

Li Qinghua felt utterly embarrassed. She not only had to record Zhang Wei’s questions but also faced Judge Chen’s scrutiny.

She swore that once the pretrial was over, she would definitely give Zhang Wei a thorough lesson.

With such a performance in the pretrial, what’s the point of fighting this lawsuit? Might as well just wait for the loss!

Zhang Wei had no idea that his future mother-in-law was already prepared to teach her son-in-law a lesson.

He then turned to a man in a gray suit, "Sir, if a stranger, a beautiful woman, helped you, what would you think?"

"I would tell her to keep her distance because I can move things myself, and I have a wife. If a strange woman approached me, I would suspect she had ulterior motives!"

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but nod. This is the ideal juror I need.

But he couldn’t show his intention, so he responded to the man in the suit with a smile, "It seems you really love your wife!"

"Your Honor, the defense accepts this juror!"

Judge Chen looked at Zhang Wei and nodded, noting down this choice.

Soon after, the jury selection was completed, and Judge Chen announced to the public, "Very well, we now have a jury. The pretrial is over for today, and the trial will commence Friday morning. The prosecution, please be prepared with your opening statements!"

With that, the court began to adjourn.

As the judge left the bench, Li Qinghua finally couldn’t stay seated.

"Madam Mother-in-law, please go ahead with your duties, I’ll take the defendant and leave first!"

Zhang Wei was unaware that Li Qinghua was preparing to teach him a lesson and left with Fang Yunshu.

"This kid, how did Xiao Yue Yue end up fancying such an unreliable person!"

Thinking back to the scene before the court session, Li Qinghua almost wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"I heard before that Zhang Wei had been involved in quite a few cases, but this line of questioning was just ridiculous!"

She muttered, starting to wonder if Zhang Wei had won his previous cases simply by luck.

"Forget it, he definitely can’t win this case. The opponent is Lan Gaojian from the Procuratorate Headquarters. If he can win, I..."

Li Qinghua thought for a moment but didn’t jinx herself with any flag, because whether Zhang Wei won or not, what did it have to do with her, the court clerk?

With this thought, she couldn’t be bothered to worry about Zhang Wei anymore—out of sight, out of mind.

Court, in the preparation room.

Zhang Wei glanced at the door; Lan Gaojian, of course, didn’t show up.

"I really thought he might come over to negotiate or discuss terms. It seems I was just wishful thinking."

This was normal; for the Procuratorate Headquarters, this case was practically guaranteed to be a win.

If they still needed to negotiate to reach a plea bargain, the Procuratorate Headquarters would feel ashamed.

Lan Gaojian would naturally not come to negotiate a guilty plea with Zhang Wei.

He had also said that the prosecution’s demand was life imprisonment; they would not let a murderer serve only a few years or even a decade.

Seeing that Lan Gaojian was nowhere to be seen, Zhang Wei naturally withdrew his gaze and went back to the preparation room.

"Lawyer Zhang, what should we do tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow has nothing to do with you; you just need to sit in the defendant’s seat!"

Zhang Wei waved his hand, "Tomorrow is the prosecution’s opening statement. They will have witnesses point to you as the murderer. What you need to do is very simple: remain unmoved. When you face accusations, do not show too much emotional fluctuation. That’s all!"

"Won’t that make me appear too indifferent?"

"But if you waver, it will give people the sense that you have a guilty conscience. It’s better to have no expression and respond calmly to murder charges. That’s what you should do!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, he pointed towards the direction of the court, "Do you remember the additional question I asked?"

"You mean the question about the opposite sex approaching you, like you taking the initiative to show kindness?"

"Yes, that’s the question!"

Zhang Wei nodded and explained, "My question was designed to filter out those who don’t take things at face value. I need jurors who doubt everything, like a wife suspecting her husband of stalking. I need people who can understand you. Fortunately, my question just now helped me select a few such people. With them on the jury, the more indifferent you act, the more suspicious they become, which in turn will lead them to consider if there’s more to this case!"

Fang Yunshu nodded, finally understanding Zhang Wei’s questioning.

Afterward, under the escort of two field agents from the Martial Association, she left the City Court.

Zhang Wei walked to the window and looked at the situation at the main entrance; there were indeed many reporters outside.

Lan Gaojian had already arrived at the entrance, answering questions from the media, and even Zhao Jing could not escape the interrogation.

"If the prosecution receives such treatment, won’t I be torn apart by them if I, as the defense, go out?"

Zhang Wei walked toward the back door of the courtroom again; the security passageway had almost become his private exit.